The Week in Library Land - July 25 to July 31

The Week in Library Land, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to write those words, and believe me, they have been missed. Last week was like the pre-Covid times. Over the course of five days, we visited five libraries and had some wonderfully memorable moments - especially during our visit to Charlton!

On Monday, I found myself at the main Framingham Public Library. I’d been back in my old stomping grounds of Natick and needed to find a place to work. I could have gone to the Morse Institute, but I’d recently heard from Deb Hinkle that she was the new assistant director at Framingham, and thought I might have a chance to say hello.

The Framingham Public Library Business Resource Center.

Things at the Framingham library seemed very normal. I found myself a quiet place to work and got down to business. As I was sitting there, I could hear new staff being trained on some of the library’s technology, a scanner in this case. It was amazing how many patrons came in with items that needed to be scanned!

Coincidentally, Deb spotted me before I found her and we had a nice chat about the library, her role, and a few other things. She pointed out the library’s new business center. It’s an excellent addition. She also mentioned that the library has a ton of positions to fill. This is such encouraging news!

On Thursday, Adam and I hit the road together and visited three libraries. The first was the Millbury Public Library. It started as a Carnegie library back in 1915 and was expanded at the turn of this century. The ground floor features the teen and children’s areas, as well as new arrivals and media. The second floor houses the adult collection, a local history room, and a really striking reading room. 

The quiet and comfortable reading room at the Millbury Public Library.

Marie Guillory, who has been a Millbury library assistant for 30 year, was kind enough to show us around and share some of the library’s history with us - as well as details on how they have managed during the Covid pandemic. Like most libraries, they closed in March of 2020 and slowly began adding services. After a few false starts, the library fully reopened on June 1st of this year. One of the most heartening things was to hear they are doing in-person programming - including for children.

Speaking of kids, the Millbury Library has a terrific children’s section that includes a separate programming space. Marie told us this was something the children’s librarian wouldn’t compromise on when the building was expanded. Seeing and hearing about this kind of commitment to children’s service is wonderful. 

Gotta love the commitment to festivities!

There are a few curious little features. For example, the year-round Christmas tree that is decorated for all different holidays. The history room has old high school yearbooks, which are always fun to look at and imagine what life would have been like if you’d grown up in the town. As a life-long resident of Millbury, Marie was able to give us some local history and recommendations for other places to visit while we were in town.

She told us about the S & D Spinning Mill, where the yarn used to make major league baseballs is still manufactured. Did you know that there are 330 yards of wool yarn in every baseball? I had no idea! Marie also pointed us to the Cake Shop Cafe, a nice little baker located in another one of the town’s restored mills. All in all, it was a really nice visit. A great little library, a friendly staff, and a charming town.

The Auburn Public Library.

From Millbury, we headed northwest to Auburn. The Auburn Public Library was built in 1967. It is a large, open space with a high ceiling. I stopped at the service desk to ask a few questions about the library and the town. Adam, as he typically does, started taking photos. The staff stopped him, explaining it was against library policy. I went back to the service desk to ask another question, but was asked a few myself: who were we and what were we doing and whether I had a card. As I started describing Library Land, I was told I would need to speak with the director (who was out) if I had questions. It seemed odd. One would think asking a librarian the population of a community would be a pretty typical reference question. We had a pretty short visit.  

The Polaris missile.

As we approached the library, we had seen a rocket or missile in a park nearby and decided to have a closer look. It turns out that Robert Goddard had launched his first liquid-fueled rocket right nearby and the community wanted to memorialize the event. They had been interested in getting a rocket from NASA, but it turns out they’re pretty darned expensive. Instead, they bought a slightly used Polaris missile. Unfortunately, the Polaris is a solid-fueled rocket, but it’s the thought that counts, right?

I’m not going to lie, we were a little saddened by our visit to Auburn, but had sky high hopes for our next stop: Charlton. Again, in the spirit of honesty and transparency, the nearby Tree House Brewery was a big part of our excitement - but it was totally eclipsed by our amazing visit to the Charlton Public Library.

The awesome Charlton library.

The library is located a big brick building that once served as the town’s municipal offices, as well as the library. As we walked through the doors, we were struck by the excellent condition of the space. The main room featured a high ceiling and giant windows with a fantastic view to the west. It was pretty amazing.

The spacious Charlton reading room.

As I approached the service desk, I was a little worried about our reception. That worry only deepened when I was told I should speak with the director, Cheryl Hansen. The fear proved unfounded. She invited me into her office. We chatted briefly and she asked if we’d like a tour of the building. Would we ever! 

Cheryl told us about the library’s renovation and expansion, which was completed in 2007 and bumped the library to more than 25,000 square feet. She pointed out the many pieces of stained glass around the main reading room - all created for the library by a devoted member of the community. She painted a picture of a well-loved and well-used community space - music to our ears!

She led us out into the foyer and into a pair of small rooms - each with its own safe! Who doesn’t love seeing something like this? Next, Cheryl led us up a flight of stairs to show us one of the library’s many meeting spaces. It turned out to be a full-fledged theater - Dexter Hall - with a stage and everything! Sound dampening curtains and tiles lined the walls and ceiling. It created a really pleasing acoustic atmosphere, very still and silent. This would be only the beginning.

Dexter Hall, perfect for large events.

Two floors below, we saw another meeting room. Not as grand as the first, but still totally functional and apparently the most popular. In fact, the library typically hosts more than 1,000 community meetings and events - and that’s not even counting library-sponsored events! 

We went down a short set of steps into the children’s area - which was huge! Like the large reading room upstairs, this one had windows that looked out to the west. It also looks out over the library parking lot and two baseball fields. The only problem comes when there are events at the ball fields, and then parking can be a headache. The library is just a short walk from the elementary school and that brings a lot of kids to the library - how wonderful is that? 

Summer may be waning but there’s always time to read!

The kids’ area has a ton of nice features. There’s a nice program room, a large play space, and an outdoor reading garden. The summer reading program is in full swing and they have a TON of prizes and rewards. Participation isn’t limited to Charlton residents, and Cheryl told us they get a lot of usage - not just for children’s programming - from people in other nearby towns. She thinks it’s because they kept services going and their amazing energy.

Now what happened next was super special. As we stood chatting in the children’s area, more of the staff suddenly appeared. Then they let us in on a little secret: they had recognized us and had been waiting for us to visit! We all had a good laugh about that.

Stained glass, created and given by an enthusiastic patron.

Back in the main reading room, Cheryl talked about her plans to retire in the fall. The library has such a wonderful culture. She told a story of a patron who came in regularly to browse the DVDs, which are located by the circulation desk. Eventually, the patron admitted to the staff that what they really came for was the banter and sense of community. How wonderful is that? 

She also talked about the amazing dedication of the staff. For example, during the time the library was closed, Nicole Messier, the library’s executive assistant, came in to repaint the interior. Just walking through the library, you can sense the care people bring to their work and to the community they serve.

It’s worth noting that all three of the libraries we visited that day served similarly-sized communities: Auburn - 16,188, Charlton - 13,697, and Millbury 13,866. Despite this, all three were very different. It made me think of a variation on the second and third of Ranganathan’s laws of library science: a library for every community, and a community for every library. 

Leaving the library (it was closing time, after all), we made our way to Tree House, where we got our hands on a nice selection of their fantastic beers. It was a nice way to wrap up an amazing day in library land.

The last library of the week was a solo excursion by Adam to the Woonsocket Harris Public Library in Rhode Island. I’ve visited it in the past and it’s a funny little place. During this visit, Adam found a curious semi-circle of furniture set up. Almost like a crop circle. Was it aliens? Extra-dimensional beings? Adam had to know!

Sadly, the truth was far more prosaic: the circle had simply been made by the staff to close off a research section. It, like other areas of the library, had been shut as part of Covid protocols. The public computer area was packed, which was great to see. Adam managed to get some work done and even managed to remain nourished with an outdoor meal of fish and chips from Ye Olde English Fish and Chips Restaurant in downtown Woonsocket.  

So there you have it, a rather full - and really wonderful - week in library land. Can’t wait to share more in the weeks to come!